Fitrah (Our Natural State)

First Khutbah All praise is due to Allah, who created mankind upon that which benefits them, and prescribed for them a religion that purifies their natural disposition (fitrah). We bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and we bear witness that our Prophet Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. May Allah's peace, blessings, and mercy be upon Him, His family, His companions, and all who follow Him. To proceed: I advise you, servants of Allah, and myself, to have taqwa (consciousness and fear) of Allah. Allah the Exalted says: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ﴾ O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous.   O Believers, Fitrah is that divine and upright nature, the wise and purposeful design of the Creator upon which souls were molded to be sound and balanced. It is the pure disposition agreed upon by all divinely revealed laws, religions, and heavenly scriptures. Indeed, it is:  ﴿فِطْرَتَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا﴾ The fitrah of Allah upon which He has created [all] people. And it is the coloring of Allah, the divine imprint upon our souls ﴿صِبْغَةَ اللَّهِ وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ صِبْغَةً﴾، [Our life] takes its colour from Allah, and who gives a better colour than Allah? Fitrah is that pure foundation and praiseworthy origin which Allah the Exalted has imprinted in every human being from birth. As the Prophet ﷺ said: «لَيْسَ مِنْ مَوْلُودٍ يُولَدُ إِلَّا عَلَى هَذِهِ الْفِطْرَةِ» There is no child born except upon this fitrah. Fitrah is the natural disposition that is prepared to accept faith in Allah, to do good, to adopt virtue and purity, and to uphold moral values and character. Human beings are created with an innate recognition of their Lord and a natural inclination to be guided toward their Creator. As Allah, the Most High, says about the Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him: ﴿إِلَّا الَّذِي فَطَرَنِي فَإِنَّهُ سَيَهْدِينِ﴾. “And [mention] when Abraham said to his father and his people, ‘Indeed, I am disassociated from what you worship, except for the One who created me; and indeed, He will guide me.” Through our fitra, we recognize that we have a Great Lord, Wise and Sovereign, whose blessings we sense, whose power we affirm. By this innate nature, a person is inclined to act in accordance with the design of their creation and the nature of their body. Indeed, Allah the Exalted, created man and instilled in him the traits of manhood and fatherhood, and He created woman naturally prepared for compassion and motherhood. A sound fitrah calls us to preserve the natural laws that Allah has set in His creation. Allah the Most High says: ﴿وَأَنَّهُ خَلَقَ الزَّوْجَيْنِ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنْثَى﴾ ﴾ And that He created the two mates,  the male and the female. ﴿ Thus, a man is adorned with values of dignity and chivalry in his words and appearance, and firmness in his behavior and dealings. A woman, in turn, is beautified by modesty in her dress, shyness in her interactions with people, and tenderness toward her children. Allah has made marriage between a man and a woman a matter of fitrah (natural disposition) and a divine sunnah (way). Whoever goes against this has had their fitrah overturned, has deviated from the nature upon which they were created, their lineage is cut off from the earth, their actions are detested by those of sound nature, and they turn away from the wisdom of their Lord in His creation. So, reflect upon the words of the Prophet ﷺ in the sacred (Qudsi) hadith in which He relates from his Lord: «قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: إِنِّي خَلَقْتُ عِبَادِي حُنَفَاءَ كُلَّهُمْ ‌فَاجْتَالَتْهُمْ الشَّيَاطِينُ عَنْ دِينِهِمْ». “Allah the Exalted said: ‘I created all My servants as monotheists (ḥunafāʾ),’ ‘But the devils came to them and led them astray from their religion.’” That is, they made them take their religion lightly and diverted them from their sound fitrah and upright character. They altered the creation of Allah and obeyed the Shayṭān, who threatened them, saying:      ﴿وَلَآمُرَنَّهُمْ فَلَيُغَيِّرُنَّ ‌خَلْقَ ‌اللَّهِ﴾ “And I will command them so they will surely change the creation of Allah” So, fear Allah, and hold fast to the purity of your fitrah, your values, your traditions, and the customs of your society, follow the example of your fathers and forefathers. ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ﴾ “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.” I say this, and I ask Allah for forgiveness for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful. Second Khutbah All praise is due to Allah; in the manner He truly deserves. And may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and companions, and all who follow his guidance after him. We thank Allah, the Exalted, for allowing us to live in a society that preserves its pure fitrah (natural disposition), its noble traditions, and its honorable conduct. ﴾ All praise is due to Allah,  Lord of the worlds﴿ ﴿الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ﴾ And part of showing true gratitude for this blessing is warning people against anything that may change or distort it. So beware, O servants of Allah, of harmful customs and foreign influences that attract some of our young men and women, those ideas and behaviors widely promoted on various social media platforms. Let it be known to all that every honorable society takes pride in its traditions and heritage. Allah, the Exalted, has chosen for you the finest and most complete of customs, those that align with His divine law and are in harmony with the fitrah “upon which He created mankind”. It is not appropriate for anyone to detach themselves from the identity and values of their own community, imitating those whose natural disposition has become corrupted, whether in speech, hairstyle, clothing, walking style, deviant behavior, or tampering with the body through tattoos and the like. All that stands in clear contradiction to the noble customs of our society. O servants of Allah, accustom yourselves to do good if people do good and do not do wrong (even) if they do evil. Let your goodness be a decision, not a reaction. Let us all strive to preserve the purity of our fitrah, remain firmly attached to our Arabic language, and hold fast to our identity, so that it becomes a stronghold protecting our future generations, so these generations may continue to be a source of joy, pride, and the best investment in the future of our homeland. Let us now end with a heartfelt du ‘a to Allah and by sending salawat upon our beloved Prophet Muhammadﷺ. O servants of Allah, send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammadﷺ. O Allah, send Your blessings, and peace, upon him, his family, his companions, and those who follow them in righteousness. O Allah, be pleased with Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and ‘Ali, and with all the noble companions. O Allah, make us true believers in You, devoted in worship to You. O Allah, make us proud of our pure fitrah, and dutiful to our parents. Have mercy on them as they raised us when we were young, O Most Merciful of the merciful. O Allah, protect the United Arab Emirates. Encompass it with Your care, and surround it with Your protection, O Lord of the Worlds. O Allah, protect the President of the State, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.  Clothe him in garments of righteousness and wisdom, and grant success to him, his deputies, his brothers, the rulers of the Emirates, and to his loyal Crown Prince, in all that you love and are pleased with. O Allah, have mercy on Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Rashid, and all the leaders of the Emirates who have passed away and are under Your mercy, admit them, by Your grace, into the gardens of Paradise, and encompass the martyrs of our nation with Your mercy and forgiveness. O Allah, have mercy on all Muslim men and women, the living among them and the deceased. O servants of Allah, remember Allah, the Almighty, the Most Glorious, and He will remember you, give thanks to Him for His blessings, and He will increase you. And establish the prayer.